Putin silences the airwaves

By Jeff Jacoby

"Since coming to power in 1999, Putin has seized control of the country's major TV channels, all of which are now under the thumb of the government or its allies. Local media outlets rarely challenge the regional governors, most of whom are Kremlin loyalists -- especially since Putin abolished the popular election of regional officials two years ago. A bill now before the Russian Parliament would broaden the crime of "extremism" to include media criticism of public officials. If convicted, journalists could be imprisoned for three years and their publications closed down."

[SNIP]

"Just as in the old days," Garry Kasparov, the chess champion and Russian democracy activist, wrote in a New York Times column on Monday, "Moscow has become an ally for troublemakers and anti-democratic rulers around the world. Nuclear aid to Iran, missile technology to North Korea, military aircraft to Sudan, Myanmar and Venezuela, and a budding friendship with Hamas: These are the West's rewards for keeping its mouth shut about human rights in Russia."

Read more.